Bloxels: The Hands-on, Brains-on Video Game Builder

$68,001

764

Thank you Kickstarter Backers!

We had a great time and thank you for your support. If you missed out click here to order Bloxels through our website.

What is Bloxels?

With Bloxels, you use physical blocks to build customizable video games on your iOS, Android & Kindle tablet or smartphone.

Create a layout on the gameboard. Capture it on camera. Customize it in the app, test it out and make it awesome. Then, challenge your friends and try to beat each other's creations.

What makes Bloxels different than all other tech toys before it?

Bloxels is not just another tech-enabled toy. It's a hands-on, brains-on, creativity & technology experience that exercises both sides of your brain. That's not an over-promise. Promise.

By starting the game building process with Bloxels' colored blocks, players are challenged to put down their screen and think strategically. Each block has many possibilities, so creating a game layout requires some imagination and calculation. Yet, it's as simple as building with blocks.

The on-screen experience combines design, logic and experimentation. It's about more than picking characters. It's about making a game that's possible to beat but not too easy. It's about seeing your ideas in action, testing them and making them better. It's a little science and a lot of fun.

Bloxels is unlike anything before it because it unlocks hands-on creativity in us by leveraging something we love, video games. With Bloxels you can keep playing games but also channel your creative potential. Plus it involves those around you – parents, relatives, friends and teachers – as you build and play games together. This makes Bloxels a great experience for kids and adults and most makes it possible to enjoy an "online" experience even when you aren't online.

How old? Bloxels is recommended for kids 8 and up, however we've seen kids as young as 2 capable of understanding and learning the basic concepts of creating with Bloxels first-hand, and of course adults love it too.

Do I need more than one gameboard? No. The standard Bloxels Box Set comes with one gameboard and 250 blocks. This is more than enough to build large games using the app to "digitally stitch" together multiple gameboards. However, for collaborative building we recommend multiple boards and offer a discounted Team Builder set that includes 5 gameboards and more blocks.

An actual quote from one of our very first play testers, Mateo, playing alongside his brother Nikko. That same evening we asked Mateo what he would call this game. He immediately said "Bloxels".

How does the hands-on building and digital video game experience work together?

It's hard to realize how powerful Bloxels is without actually seeing it in person, however this video will help you learn more about how together Bloxels & B.R.A.V.E. Squad (the first available app for Bloxels, FREE, iOS, Android & Kindle) delivers a hands-on video game creation experience.

Once you're done watching keep reading to learn more about future games for Bloxels. We bet you've already thought of a few, haven't you?

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Want to see more? Check out this Kickstarter Update for more footage of players creating with Bloxels.

The outpour of support from the press for Bloxels has been nothing short of amazing. Here is a collection of our favorites.

The first title we’re releasing for Bloxels is B.R.A.V.E. Squad — the Boss Removal And Villain Extermination Squad – and it comes included with your backing of the Bloxels Box Set.

B.R.A.V.E. Squad is a top-down, dungeon-crawler action-RPG in which intergalactic heroes go from planet to planet, trying to rid the world of bad guys. The more you play (remember, you can battle as a hero or a boss), the more coins and gems you can earn towards upgrades, like classing up, expanding the size of arenas you can build and unlocking new features.

B.R.A.V.E. Squad is launching with 3 bosses and 3 heroes for you to unlock and upgrade. Each hero and boss has unique strengths and weapons, and each boss comes with a unique environment to defend and collections of villains to help you.

Will you Play and attack as a hero or create and defend as a Boss?

Archie Briggs was practically born with cool moves and incredible aim. When he's not blasting bad guys, you can find him playing space grunge-rock, tinkering with gadgets or working on a new hoverboard trick. Chita Kale is part deer, part sylph, part mechanic and all fierce. She knows her spark plugs from her fuel sensors, and she can knock out a repair faster than you can say 'monkey-wrench'. Mack Briggs is Archie's twin brother. He may look slow, but don't make him mad, or say anything about his brother. He's not afraid to use force to set things straight.

Festus Fleshburn is a bad dude. Well, he’s actually a bad, undead bull. And he’s bad to the bone. Half of his skull was blasted off in a nasty encounter with a fire-breathing werewolf. Keep an eye out for 2 more bosses coming soon. Myookis is the sultan of sludge! You can never hide from all of his googly eyeballs, but you can definitely hear his terrible wailing from a mile away. He sometimes uses his keytar for a special, brain-bursting soundwave attack. Commander Coldcuts worked his way up the ranks dicing potatoes until his knuckles bled. Now he commands his underlings with the militant discipline of a meat grinder.

Will more games be available for Bloxels?

Yes! There are all types of games that could be built for Bloxels beyond just B.R.A.V.E Squad. Our Kickstarter video highlights just a few of the game types we're working on.

Have a favorite? Vote for it to be a future game for Bloxels game by sharing the #hashtag on Twitter (@boxelsbuilder) and Facebook (@bloxels).

What's in each Bloxels Box Set?

The NEW Bloxels Expansion Set

For just $20 added to any current Bloxels Box Set package (no need to change packages or add additional shipping) you'll get another gameboard and 100 additional blocks. Each Bloxels Expansion Set comes in a heavy duty zip-tite bag, plus the game box you are already getting can hold this extra gameboard and the extra blocks.

This new expansion set is an awesome upgrade! You can add up to 4 Expansion Sets per 1 standard Bloxels Box Set and add more by adding another standard Bloxels Box Sets ($50).

If you are considering the Team Builder Mega Pack and want to add Expansion Sets you can do that too, however keep in mind it's a better deal to add the already offered $100, 5 gameboard upgrade if you are interested in adding more than 4 more gameboards.

Bloxels Kickstarter is EU Friendly

We're working with a local shipping partner in the European Union to ensure that shipments are free of extra customs charges. We're also working with this same partner to ship to other additional areas outside of the United States to ensure shipping goes as quickly and smoothly as possible.

Who's behind this Kickstarter?

Pixel Press is a technology company based in Saint Louis that was founded right here on Kickstarter exactly two years ago! We're a collection of gamers, technology geeks and — the most important hobby of all — dads.

Pixel Press makes games for both sides of your brain. By merging the physical and digital worlds, we develop boundless experiences that empower people of all ages to create, share and play.

The left picture, taken in October 2014, and was the first Bloxels prototype game board. In the picture on the left, Bloxels was first announced at New York Toy Fair 2015, where it was recognized by Popular Science for "Best of Toy Fair".

If you are interested in seeing what we've created in the past and how we're qualified to deliver such a unique product experience, please visit our website (projectpixelpress.com) and learn about our last two "create your own video game" apps, Pixel Press Floors and Cartoon Network's Adventure Time: Game Wizard.

Production & Shipment Timeline

As you can see, we've already gotten a lot done but there's still work to do. Below is a timeline leading up to the Bloxels shipment and B.R.A.V.E. Squad app release in October 2015.

Thank you.

We are so appreciative for the opportunity to be back here on Kickstarter. Thank you to our community for supporting us in making games. If you have any questions, feedback or ideas for the future of Bloxels, please leave them in the comments.

Risks and challenges

This is our second Kickstarter campaign and we understand the entire process and have learned from the challenges we've faced in the past. We have put a ton of time, effort and research into every step of the development and production timeline. We are well on our way to making Bloxels a reality, but as with any new product, we face a few key risks and challenges.

Manufacturing the Hardware

One of the biggest challenges with this project is working with manufacturers to build the gameboard and blocks. The grid on the gameboard has to be incredibly precise to work with the software, and the blocks have to be able to fit in the grid, without being too tight or too loose. We also need to purchase a minimum number of units, all made to our specifications. We're working with a manufacturer who we’re confident can meet our standards, and we’re on track to deliver on time.

Finessing the Software

The other main challenge is the software component. The technology we’re using isn’t exactly new, but we’re using it in a new way. And we’re figuring out how to account for end-user variables, like how the block colors look under different types of lighting. We must also make sure our first title, B.R.A.V.E. Squad, is bug-free and compelling to play. There are a lot of elements that must work together, but we already have working prototypes. Every day, the Bloxels and B.R.A.V.E. Squad experiences are getting better and better.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $10 or more
About $10

STICKERS & SLAPPIES – Remember those awesome slap bracelets from the 80s/90s? Yep they were our favorite too! This premium silicone slap bracelet is way better than any other you’ve ever had, ever. Plus, cool stickers, access to exclusive updates and your name in the B.R.A.V.E. Squad credits (all rewards)!

All packages include EU-friendly shipping – no extra customs charges! (See FAQ for more details.)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $125 or more
About $125

TEAM BUILDER MEGA PACK – It's about to get epic! Whether you run a gaming guild, classroom, office, club or are just someone with a big table, you get 1 Bloxels Box Set (gameboard, 250 blocks, guide book) plus 4 Bloxels Expansion Sets. Each Bloxels Expansion Set includes 1 full size gameboard and 100 extra blocks in a zip lock bag for easy storage.

You also get a Bloxels T-Shirt + 5 B.R.A.V.E Squad Apps, 5 Stickers & Slappies. Add $100 to THIS PACKAGE to double it to 10 gameboards! (see FAQ for more details).

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $125 or more
About $125

BLOXELS BOX SET WITH WALNUT UPGRADE – Instead of the regularly awesome standard gameboard, your Bloxels set comes with the enhanced awesomeness of a gameboard cut from single-plank Virginia walnut, milled in Missouri and finished in Saint Louis. This fine, American-made, well-crafted product works just as well as the regular game board looks even better. + T-Shirt + Stickers & Slappies

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

BLOXELS NOW! + WALNUT GAMEBOARD – Get in the game early. We’ll ship you a Bloxels box set with the limited edition walnut gameboard upgrade (when it's ready in October) and send you a SAMPLE gameboard + blocks and the B.R.A.V.E. Squad app NOW! You'll certainly be asked to hunt for bugs and you’ll get to see it progress as we get closer to release. + T-Shirt + Stickers & Slappies

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,000 or more
About $1,000

YOUR HERO OR BOSS IN B.R.A.V.E. SQUAD + WALNUT GAMEBOARD – Get creative, while keeping it classy. At this level, our design team will work with you to come up with your idea for an in-game HERO or BOSS, to be released in a future update plus you'll get some cool printed artwork to show off to your friends. And you get the limited edition walnut gameboard. + Hoodie + T-Shirt + Stickers & Slappies